Quote:
Originally Posted by pokeybritches
If anything, he should check the fluid levels every so often.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gle8
I'm an idiot when it comes to cars (or anything mechanical).
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You think?
A diff should be dry. If it's wet on the underside, you should fix that right away.
There's only 1 litre of oil in there, and when it leaks, it's very hard to tell how fast it's leaking, or how hard it's going to leak.
There's not much to fix in the diff when it breaks unless used/aftermarket parts are sourced (bmw only sells complete units in casing apart from the seals). A remanufactured diff (from BMW) is about $3k, so well worth some care.
A major diff leak is probably the propshaft seal on a 210 diff (but it could be some other seal too, but seals are cheap, so you pay mostly for labour)
A good shop can inspect the friction plates and measure the backlash to make certain the diff is ok (not needed when there is sufficient oil left in the casing obviously).
Be sure to get a shop that has experience with diff overhaul: the drive flange nut must be marked before loosening (and afterwards screwed on in the same position).